1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to projectiles, and more particularly, to projectiles having a casing and/or interior that act as a communication bus between at least two components of the projectile. For purposes of this disclosure, a projectile is any flying object, such as munitions, rockets, or aircraft. Also for purposes of this disclosure, a communication bus is anything that transmits one or more signals between two or more components. Such transmission may be one-way or two-way. Thus, the transmission may be a simple point-to-point link between two components or a point to many links between several components. Furthermore, the transmission may be such that the transmitted signal(s) are available to any components on the communication bus. Still further, the communication bus may be more than one media, such as a waveguide, potting material, and/or free space in the casing (including the casing itself).
2. Prior Art
Projectiles typically have a casing or shell in which electronic or electrical components are housed. The electronic or electrical (collectively referred to hereinafter as “electronic” or “electronics”) components communicate with each other and/or other devices via internal wiring (which includes printed circuit boards). While the wiring has its advantages, it suffers from certain disadvantages such as susceptibility to noise, brittleness, potential for high bit error, takes up a large amount of space in the interior of the casing or shell, can be fragile particularly when subjected to high-g loads, and can suffer from poor connections. In addition, the process of projectile assembly with wiring is cumbersome and time consuming, thereby costly, particularly since in general, numerous components have to be assembled into relatively small spaces. These disadvantages are amplified in certain devices that house electronic components and operate in harsh environments and under high accelerations. 